© UN Photo/Mark Garten
The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Mr. Jean Todt, will be in Athens on 26 and 27 September to meet several high-level officials in Greece and participate in the Award Ceremony of the first Driving and Road Safety Project, organized by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its partners, the Catholic Relief Services and “Panos Mylonas” Road Safety Institute.
The goal of the mission of the Special Envoy is to advocate for more investment in safe and sustainable mobility, put road safety at the top of the political agenda and ensure the effective implementation of the new Global Plan of Action for the New Decade of Action for Road Safety to achieve the global goal of halving the number of victims on the road by 2030.
Furthermore, the Special Envoy will participate in the Award Ceremony for refugees who have successfully graduated the road safety training, as part of UNHCR’s Driving and Road Safety Project. The Award Ceremony will be held in Athens on 26 September at the Museum of Cycladic Art, in the presence of Deputy Minister of Migration and Asylum in charge of Integration, Ms. Sofia Voultepsi.
The Road Safety Project for refugees is a new initiative in Greece developed in close cooperation with the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. It is preparing 30 refugees, including 18 men and 12 women from 13 countries, such as Afghanistan, Syria, Palestine, Cameroon and Iran, to sit the national driving licence exam in Greece. The programme has attracted huge interest from the refugee community, with some 400 people applying to participate.
“Road safety and driving lessons can be an excellent and productive way to introduce refugees into the social, economic, and cultural life of Greece. And, of course, to help them find work and eventually fully integrate. I hope that this pilot project will bring on board more actors and donors to be able to scale it up to the benefit of more refugees, and into the national economy and society at-large“, comments the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Mr. Jean Todt
“For many refugees in Greece, not being able to legally drive is a huge barrier, especially to find employment. This Road Safety Project helps refugees to drive their way to independence and integration, by training them as safe drivers and by supporting them to pass the national driving licence exams”, highlights the UNHCR Representative in Greece, Ms Maria Clara Martin.
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